Start by placing your paper towel under the cover of the notebook that you are painting, this will protect the paper below. Decide where you want your first shape to go, and press your stencil down firmly. Saturate the tip of brush with colour, and fill half of the shape. You don’t wan’t your brush to be too wet for this, otherwise it will seep way under the stencil and the colour will be weak.

I tested colours on a piece of kraft paper first, to see how they would come out and practice getting the right water consistency on the brush. You might need an extra paper towel to dry your brush inbetween colours.

Without moving the stencil, rinse your brush and move on to the next colour, making sure they overlap to get a nice blended colour.

Carefully lift up your stencil, wipe it clean and then move on to the next shape, choosing a different colour combo. Have some of your shapes overlap the edge, to give continuity to the pattern. You will notice some bleed under the stencil, personally I quite like this slight ‘imperfection’ in the shape.

Keep going until you have covered both of your notebooks, don’t use them until they are completely dry.